1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a portable outdoor cook stove and, more particularly, to a portable outdoor cook stove with a removable and reversible grate for supporting and retaining cooking vessels thereon. The invention also contemplates a convenient packaging method for locating the grate within the confines of a suitably configured cook stove.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable outdoor gas cook stoves are commonly used for camping, recreational vehicle, tailgating, and backyard cooking. In general, a cook stove comprises a vertically-open frame supported above the ground and a burner coaxially supported within the frame. The frame typically has a flat surface, such as a grate, on which a cooking vessel is placed so that the vessel is located above the burner and, therefore, heated by the burner. An example of a suitable cooking vessel is a tall stockpot, often used for boiling, deep frying, stewing, and other cooking methods.
Because cook stoves are frequently positioned on dirt, gravel, or some other type of uneven ground, the flat surface that supports the stockpot may not be level, and the stockpot can have a tendency to slide. Grates and stockpots are usually constructed of metallic materials, and low-friction metal-to-metal interaction does not create a suitable force to retain the stockpot in position. If the stockpot slides past the periphery of the cooker grate, it can completely fall off the cook stove, thus causing an undesirable situation.
The current invention addresses the aforementioned problems by providing a portable cook stove with a cooking pot support having upstanding peripheral tabs that, when oriented upwardly with respect to the cook stove base, retain cooking pots and other cooking vessels on the cooking surface of the cooking pot support. The invention is safe, versatile, convenient, and easy to use. For cooking pots wider than the cooking tabs, the grate can be reversed (or inverted) so that the tabs are oriented downwardly and, thus, the tabs do not obstruct the placement of a wider-diameter pot on the grate.
Specifically, the current invention is a portable cook stove adapted for supporting a cooking pot thereon, the cooking pot defining an effective pot diameter, comprising ground engaging base; a wall mounted to the base having a closed hoop configuration defining a periphery with an effective outer diameter, wherein the wall has an upper portion and defines a central opening therethrough, wherein the upper portion of the wall includes a discontinuous mounting portion; and a burner mounted to the wall in a generally coaxial configuration with the central opening, the burner adapted to be operably interconnected with a source of fuel. At least one cooking pot support is mounted to the wall in a generally transverse orientation to the wall and extends into the central opening, a portion of the cooking pot support received by the discontinuous mounting portion to prevent lateral movement of the cooking pot support with respect to the wall, the cooking pot support having a first cooking surface juxtaposed with a second cooking surface, the first cooking surface having an upstanding peripheral tab thereon defining an effective inner diameter; the at least one cooking pot support defining a cooking pot support surface for supporting the cooking pot thereon.
When a cooking pot having an effective pot diameter at or less than the effective inner diameter is employed, the cooking pot support can be oriented with respect to the wall so that the upstanding peripheral tabs are directed upwardly creating a guard against slippage of the cooking pot with respect to the cooking pot support, and when a cooking pot having an effective pot diameter greater than the effective inner diameter is employed, the cooking pot support can be oriented with respect to the wall so that the peripheral tabs are directed downwardly and do not create an obstruction to using the larger cooking pot.
The discontinuous mounting portion of the portable cook stove can comprise a plurality of grooves in the upper portion of the wall at radially-spaced intervals.
The cooking pot support of the portable cook stove can have at least one mounting portion in close alignment with the radially-spaced plurality of grooves in the upper portion of the wall, whereby when the mounting portion is positioned within the plurality of grooves, lateral movement of the cooking pot support with respect to the wall is resisted. The wall can have a square configuration. The cooking pot support can be configured so as to nest within the confines of the wall when canted at an angle with respect to the wall. The cooking pot support can be comprised of a latticework forming openings between adjacent lattices. The wall can also have a round configuration.
In another aspect, the invention relates to a portable cook stove comprising: a ground-engaging base with a wall upstanding therefrom, the wall defining an open central recess therethrough, the wall having at least one support mounting portion thereon at an upper portion thereof; a burner mounted to at least one of the base and the wall, the burner being positioned within the open central recess in the wall, the burner being operably connectable to a source of ignitable fuel; a cooking pot support having a first surface and an opposed second surface, each of the first surface and the second surface having at least one mounting portion in register with the at least one mounting portion on the wall, wherein the cooking pot support can be mounted generally transversely to the wall by receipt of the at least one mounting portion on one of the first and second surfaces with the at least one mounting portion on the wall, and wherein the cooking pot support has a guard extending upwardly from one of the first and second surfaces. The guard thereby prevents slidable movement of a cooking pot relative to the cooking pot support, when a cooking pot is placed onto the cooking pot support when the guard is oriented upwardly with respect to the one of the first and second surfaces.
The guard can comprise a plurality of upstanding tabs extending upwardly from a periphery of the one of the first and second surfaces. The mounting portion of the wall can comprise at least one groove in the upper portion of the wall which is adapted to receive a corresponding one of the at least one mounting portion on the cooking pot support. Each of the at least one groove in the wall can comprise a generally rounded rectangular groove. Each of the plurality of tabs can be generally flush with the periphery of the cooking pot support and extend upwardly from the one of the first and second surfaces.
In an additional aspect, the invention relates to a method of configuring a cook stove having a generally transverse cooking pot support at an upper portion thereof, the cooking pot support having an effective inner diameter, to function with cooking pots with both an effective pot diameter less than the effective inner diameter of the cooking pot support and greater than the effective inner diameter, the method comprising the steps of: providing a guard extending upwardly from one of a first surface and an opposed second surface of the cooking pot support, the guard defining the effective inner diameter of the cooking pot support on the one of a first surface and an opposed second surface of the cooking pot support; selecting a cooking pot having an effective cooking pot diameter desired to be employed with the cookstove; comparing the effective inner diameter of the cooking pot support with the effective cooking pot diameter; and orienting the cooking pot support on the cook stove so that the guard is pointing upwardly if the comparing step determines that the effective inner diameter is greater than the effective cooking pot diameter, and so that the guard is pointing downwardly if the comparing step determines that the effective inner diameter is less than the effective cooking pot diameter so that the guard does not obstruct placement of the cooking pot onto the cooking pot support.
The method can also further comprise the step of placing the selected cooking pot on the oriented cooking pot support. The method can also further comprise the step of operating the cook stove in a normal mode of use to prepare cooked food in the selected cooking pot. The method can also further comprise the step of reorienting the cooking pot support when a cooking pot of one of a lesser and greater diameter is later selected.